Reds Thread

[kramer1]

If we lose tomorrow I'm going to hurl.

 

[bengaldoug]

They're the Cornhuskers of Major League Baseball.

Getting a little harder to draw those guys out.

 

[cincygrad]

I'll admit that I was wrong about Billy Hamilton..... I never believed the kid would be hitting over .270 as we near the midpoint of the season. It would be nice if he learned how to walk more, but that will come with time.

Now, can he move back to shortstop? If he can field the position that would be incredible -- We could get rid of Cozart and pick up a center fielder.

 

[bengaldoug]

I'll admit that I was wrong about Billy Hamilton..... I never believed the kid would be hitting over .270 as we near the midpoint of the season. It would be nice if he learned how to walk more, but that will come with time.

Now, can he move back to shortstop? If he can field the position that would be incredible -- We could get rid of Cozart and pick up a center fielder.

Billy's getting better all the time, but moving him to ss is imo not the right thing to do. He's going to get gold gloves in cf in the very near future, and his range into the power alleys is already taking many potential extra base hits away. I'm all for replacing Cozart though, if it can get done over the next year or two.

 

[cincygrad]

Edison Volquez..... LOL!

 

[bengaldoug]

Edison Volquez..... LOL!

He is who we thought he was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[cincygrad]

It's really nice to see the Pirates right back where they belong.

Fuck Pittsburgh.

 

[bengaldoug]

So suddenly there is an offense?

I'm not sold yet.......

 

[kramer1]

So suddenly there is an offense?

I'm not sold yet.......

I am. Ludwick heats up with the weather. Votto is back healthy. Hamilton is on a tear. The only player that still blows is Bruce.

Well, Cozart, but he's expected to blow.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Right now, what is happening is what the Reds were banking on before the season:

Votto/Bruce having typical Votto/Bruce years. Despite Bruce still being in a funk, he has shown some signs lately of driving the ball, at least.

They needed 2 veterans to play "average" baseball at the plate: Ludwick and Phillips are both hitting around .270, which is what they needed from them.

They needed 2 guys to step up and really, really improve. Frazier has done that, and then some. You can say Meso as well, but I'm going with Hamilton. The expectation was to hope he would hit .250, OBP around .300, and steal a few bases, score some runs...he's well exceeded that, and the impact he has on the bases is quantified off-setting a lower OBP that most leadoff hitters would work hard to fix.

Then, as I said, you have Meso....

If the Reds really want to make a serious run they still need to: Upgrade the bench. It's beyond pathetic. Upgrade the middle relief. And, lastly (only because Ludwick has turned things around a bit) find a more reliable LF'er. Byrd is a guy who could be out there with the Phillies not expected to really contend...but we'll see.

 

[bengaldoug]

I am. Ludwick heats up with the weather. Votto is back healthy. Hamilton is on a tear. The only player that still blows is Bruce.

Well, Cozart, but he's expected to blow.

Bruce still looks horrible. Lets see how these guys perform vs the Cards. That's the true barometer of how good they are. Odds are they're still the Cards' bitch.

 

[cincygrad]

Bruce is just a streaky player.... And being banged up hasn't helped him. I wouldn't be shocked to see him put up a monster July or August.

My fear is that Hamilton will hit a wall sometime in the middle of the summer, Mes will come back down to earth some and this will offset any gains we have from Bruce. I also fear that are relievers suck and that we're not going to fix that.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Agreed. Consistency is the big concern with the guys they needed to step up.

Frazier, Meso, Hamilton all have to be able to minimize the down-swings in their play, or other guys will have to go on tears to pick them up...questionable at best when you don't have a lot of history to go on with some of these guys who are being relied upon. You just don't know.

 

[bengaldoug]

Is Ludwick injured? If not Price should be fired for benching the team's hottest hitter.

 

[bengaldoug]

Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaapppp!!!!!!!!

 

[cincygrad]

What a bullpen!!!!

 

[cincygrad]

Maybe we should hire a pitching coach to be our next manager.

 

[kramer1]

Good times

 

[cincygrad]

Who are these guys and what did they do with the Reds?

I fully expect that we'll score 2, 1, 2, and 4 in the next 4 games - You pick the order.

 

[bengaldoug]

Contreras looks much better than Diaz.......the bullpen definitely needs help toward the middle....the back end is still solid as long as Broxton is ok.